Well, Halloween has come and gone once again. The night of horror, monsters, and free candy has passed. Lots of people have their own Halloween traditions. Going trick-or-treating with the kiddies, staying at home and binge old horror movies (or video games), or going into your bathroom and saying Bloody Mary three times into the mirror. This is for my fellow gamers who spent Halloween playing games. These are the game franchises that fit Halloween perfectly. Since all the franchises on this list are good for the holiday in one way or another and all have awesome game in their libraries, I won't be listing them in any particular order. So, let's get right to it, starting with...
Castlevania
Starting off this list with a classic. This franchise has been with us since the olden days of the original NES. The first Castlevania game was released in 1987 and stared Simon Belmont. As a member of a long line of vampire hunters, Simon's mission is to kill Dracula and rid the world of his evil. However, much like the Hammer horror films, Dracula comes back again and again and each time a Belmont steps up to literally whip his undead ass back to the darkness he came from. The games vary in style and presentation over the years but many of these games are FULL of Halloween goodness. Let's put aside the fact that killing the most marketable and non-sparkly vampire of all time is on top of your in-game to-do list and look at some other aspects. Dracula's castle invokes a nice dark gothic feel. Most of the monsters you find yourself facing are easily recognizable. You've got mummies, werewolves, bats, mermen, flaying Medusa heads, Frankenstein's monster, and even Death itself.
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This franchise also has some of the best classic tracks the NES and SNES have ever seen. Feat your ears on Bloody Tears for a bit and try to tell me you didn't feel something. These games lean a bit less on the horror aspects of Halloween and more on the good times. Kind of like the Monster Mash.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil may not have invented the survival horror genre (That honour belongs to the origonal Alone in the Dark) but it certainly made it popular. I honestly believe that the horror genre of games wouldn't be the same without Resident Evil. This franchise first graced the gaming world in 1996 with it's first game on the Playstation. You play as Jill Valentine, a member of STARS (Special Tactical And Rescue Service) on a mission to find her missing comrades on the outskirts of Racoon City. Things go south in a massive hurry and you find yourself trapped in a mansion full of zombies and other creepy critters. The first three games were known for having fixed camera angles, tank controls, and hilariously bad voice acting. These things were fixed up by Resident Evil 4, which is still referred by some to be the GREATEST GAME OF ALL TIME. What made these these games good was the mechanics and the monsters. You're given little by way of ammo pickups which forced you to pick your battles with care. The monsters had plenty of variety in design as well as execution.
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This series also does a very good job displaying body horror. Watching William Berkin become less human and more monster with each encounter is shiver educing. These games do a good job of bringing thrills and chills. Just remember though, of you hear someone say STARS... run.
Silent Hill
Getting to the really scary stuff now. Silent Hill was Konami's answer to Resident Evil and boy did they pull it off. Silent Hill makes this list for it's premise alone, the very idea of Silent Hill. This first game was released in 1999 and stared a regular Joe named Harry Mason. He gets into a car accident near Silent Hill and finds himself roaming the empty town in search of his missing daughter Cheryl. She's a little girl, about seven years old, with black hair. Now, here is the basic concept of Silent Hill as a whole. You are alone in a foggy town in the middle of nowhere filled with horrific creatures that want you dead. But there's aren't just zombies and werewolves. No, these are your personal monsters, born from your own head. Your worst fears, your deepest regrets, and even your darkest desires are twisted and malformed by the sinister force that dwells within the town and then turned against you. There might be other forces at play, benevolent or malevolent. But no matter what, your truest foe is the town itself.
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The games show their best traits by first making you feel completely alone. The only time you encounter and human characters is during cutscenes. There is barely any music aside from a few cutscenes, which simulates the feel of actually walking down an empty street. The silence is so intense you could hear a pin drop. When music does play, you'll hear some of the best music to ever be made for a horror game. Silent Hill games are great for Halloween for their atmosphere and overall symbolism.
Ghosts and Goblins/Demon's Quest
Going back to the more lighthearted aspects of Halloween, we have the Ghosts and Goblins series. Like Castlevania, Ghosts and Goblins had it's start on the NES as a platformer with its first game hitting shelves in 1986 for NES. The games centre around Sir Arthurs quest to save Princess Prin Prin from Satan. The first Ghosts and Goblins game was infamous, for a number of reasons. The graphics were sub par, the squealing ghosts were maddening, the text was clearly never edited, the difficulty was through the roof, and you were forced to play the game TWICE in order to get the true ending. Trust me, you want that ending. The true ending of Ghosts and Goblins is certainly a thing to behold.
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Regardless, the first game did pave the way for later remakes that were far superior. It even spawned its own spin-off series called Demon's Quest. These games stared the red devil enemy from Ghosts and Goblins as a main character. These games have plenty of ghouls and ghosts for you to throw lances and fire at. The song that plays during the first level of Ghosts and Goblins has become a classic among old school gamers. Seeing Arthur take a hit, lose his armor, and run around in his boxers is good for a chuckle (imagine what happens after the final boss is dead and Arthur arrives to save the Princess in his undies). The spooky and dark environments you'll find yourself in in both Ghosts and Goblins is also worth a shout out. Play the first game with some friends to laugh at its flaws and enjoy the others.
Splatterhouse
You know you're in for a messy time with a game title like that. The other game series on this list have been either platformers or survival horror. Splatterhouse is a series of beat-em-ups with gory content that may not be appropriate for children...or cowards. This series of games follows Rick, a college student who has been transformed into a monstrous brute by a mystical relic known as the Terror Mask. With it's power, Rick must smash and bash his way through horrific creatures in West Mansion to rescue his girlfriend Jennifer from a horrific fate. The first two games were side scrolling games that focused more on the entire house trying to kill you as opposed to just the monsters. Chairs would bounce around, chandeliers would fall, deer heads would try to hurl on you and so on. You had to stay on your toes and expect to be blindsided at any point in the game. The third game has you search around the house in a semi-3D environment the is common with beat-em-ups. The fourth game was released in 2010 and is a full 3D brawler.
This game series earns its name by being as over the top with its violence as possible. Monster's heads fly off as you hit them, leaving their bodies to fountain blood before they fall over. You can knock enemies into the background with blunt weapons, causing them to explode into gore. I could go on but I don't want to make my readers sick. Splatterhouse is definitely for people who like plenty of blood and guts splattered everywhere.
So, those were 5 game franchises that were practically made to be played on Halloween. I hope the people who read this had a good Halloween. If there are some other game franchises you think ought to be played on Halloween, let me know in the comments below!